English Language/Literature A Level is a course which combines aspects of linguistic study with the analysis of literary and non-literary texts. The range of texts is wide, covering poetry, prose and drama in addition to an anthology of non-literary texts linked by a common theme. Moving you on from GCSE level study, you will explore literary criticism as well as learning about language theories and how they shape verbal and written discourses.
Content
In Year 12, after an introduction to the language frameworks you will then move onto the ‘Telling Stories’ module, where you will study a diverse anthology of fiction, non-fiction and spoken texts. With your second teacher, you will study a second module, ‘Imagined Worlds’, a literary study of a classic contemporary text. Later in this year, you will study a second literary text, The Great Gatsby, exploring the writer’s craft in characterisation, narrative perspective and literary symbolism, after which you learn to recast events of the original text from a different character’s perspective and then provide a written commentary on the linguistic choices you made.
In Year 13, students work on a language investigation (Non-Examined Assessment) looking at a literary and non-literary text of your choice and investigating how a common aspect is represented in both. This can be wide ranging and topics could include looking at the representation of women in a literary text and song-lyrics, or the representation of soldiers in war poetry and war reports or propaganda posters.
Current texts being studied include: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, poetry by Seamus Heaney, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and Shakespeare's Othello.
This is what the course will look like over the next two years:
Term
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Teacher 1
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Teacher 2
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Y12 Half Term 1
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Introduction to linguistic terms, concepts and theories. Overview of literary periods, genres and critical theories.
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Y12 Half Term 2
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Remembered Places:
AQA Anthology: Paris
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Imagined Worlds: The Handmaid’s Tale
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Y12 Half Term 3
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Remembered Places:
AQA Anthology: Paris
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Imagined Worlds: The Handmaid’s Tale
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Y12 Half Term 4
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Re-creative writing: literary texts – The Great Gatsby & Remembered Places:
AQA Anthology: Paris
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Poetic Voices – Seamus Heaney
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Y12 Half Term 5
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Re-creative writing: literary texts – The Great Gatsby & Remembered Places:
AQA Anthology: Paris
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Poetic Voices – Seamus Heaney
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Y12 Half Term 6
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Summer Exams. Introduction to NEA
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Y13 Half Term 1
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Non-Exam Assessment: Making Connections
Research skills; introduction & literature review.
NEA draft point 1
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Dramatic Encounters: Othello
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Y13 Half Term 2
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Remembered Places: AQA
Anthology: Paris (revision)
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Dramatic Encounters: Othello
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Y13 Half Term 3
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Re-creative writing: literary texts – The Great Gatsby (revision)
NEA draft point 2
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Poetic Voices: Seamus Heaney (revision)
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Y13 Half Term 4
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Remembered Places: AQA
Anthology: Paris (revision)
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Imagined Worlds: A Handmaid’s Tale (revision)
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Y13 Half Term 5
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Revision and consolidation
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Y13 Half Term 6
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A Level Examination
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